Method of manufacturing kinematographic bands.



UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE:

CHARLES DUPUIS, OF VINCENNES, FRANCE.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING KINEMATOGRAIHIC BANDS.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Dorms, citi zen of France, residing at 18 Rue de Paris, Vincennes, Seine, in the Republic of France, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods of Manufacturing Kinematographic Bands, of which the following is a specification.

Kinematographic bands are usually made of a support of transparent celluloid covcred with a silver bromid emulsion. Said bands are about 85 millimeters wide and 60 meters long or more. The images occupy 25 millimeters only on the above mentioned width so that a margin is lbft on each side to receive feeding perforations which are made before the photographic operations.

My invention consists in a method for manufacturing kincmatographic bands, which is particularly intended for use when the images are printed by photomecltanical means instead of a photographic process,said photomechanical means heii'ig particularly well adapted for printing a largenumber of images, and also when the transparent sup port of celluloid is replaced by an opaque support-,o'f inetallized paper for instance, in view of lighting the images by reflection. My method may however be used for transparent bands also, and for photographic printing but the best advantage thereof is obtained when printing by a photomechani cal process on metallizcd paper.

My aim is first to save a large quantity of the inctallized paper heretofore used which I obtain by using a surface of metallized paper just equal to the total surface of the images themselves, without thc margins for the perforations.

Another object of my 'inwantion-is to reduce considerably the costof ina-nufacture of the blocks for photomechanical printing and also the cost of the printing operation. My methodperinits also of obtaining bands of a considerable length deprived of any objectionable increase of thickness and controlling the position of the perforations so as to cause the same to exactly correspond tothe position of the images, in view of securing absolutely stationary projections.

My invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the manufacture of bands .formed of brilliant lnetallized paper and intended to be lighted by reflection, the images being printed by any photomechanicai proc- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 17, 1909. Serial No. 502,850.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

ess such as phototypy, photo-engraving, heliotypy, etc.

No machine exist-s for printing by such means in dimensions 'correspondmp to thelength of kinematographic bands, so that a band of 80 meters for instance must be formed of 100 small hands of 80 centimeters joined end to end. said small hands were superposed one upon the other in view of being glued together end to end, thickened parts would result which would cause difficulties and breaking of the band to arise when unrolling the hand through the passage of the projection machine, and thus materially aflect the projection. This objection is' removed, .accord ing to my method by means of'a support (a web of paper for instance) of a length corresponding to that of the band and hearing no impression. The images are printed on thin metallized paper, the printed sheet of metallized paper is then cut into bands of a width equal to that of an image, and said bands are glued on the opaque supporting web in the middle of its width.

The series of images are printed side by side without leaving between them any space corresponding to the perforated marginsof If however the ends of the kinematographic bands so that a con'sid-. i

erable economy may be obtained in the manufacture of printing blocks for photo-engrav ing, helioengraving, photoglyphy, etc, the

cost of which is calculated rom the total printing surface. In the case of photography a corresponding economy of sensitized paper is obtained. As kinematographic bands are millimeters in width while images are only 25 millimeters in width, it may be seen that the economy obtained is very considerable. For bands and images having special dimensions other than those above stated it is obvious that a saving corresponding; to the surface of the perforated margins may also be obtained.

My method is embodied as follows:

1 Printing plates or blocks are made by the known operations of the photomecham ical process used, from the negative or the positive bands according to circumstances. Said-plates or blocks reproduce the images of the band only and the whole surface thereof is formed of juxti osed series of images, no space being left or the perforations. If, for instance, a. phototypic process is applied, with a printing size of 55 by 81 centimeters, each plate comprises therefore a maximum of 22 bands of 81 centimeters long and 25 millimeters wide, the last numher corresponding to the width of the images. On the contrary, if the band was printed with its lateral perforations, each printing plate of the same size would contain 15 bands of 81 centimeters long instead of 22.

2 By means of the printing plates or blocks obtained as above stated, the images are printed on thin metallized. paper sheets.

3 After printing, the back of the sheets are covered with a layer of any glue such as shellac. 1

4 The sheets are thencut into ribbons or tapes 25 millimeters wide, each of said tapes consisting of one series of images, any marking device having been used for securing a proper registration when printing.

5 A paper roll of great length is then taken, said paper being sufficiently resisting for supporting the tensile strain applied by the feed drum on the perforations. Bands 35 millimeters wide are then cut from said paper web, and the printed bands 25 millimeters wide are glued thereon, at equal distance from the lateral edges and preferably at a hot temperature. The ends of the printed hands, when glued end to end on the web may extend one upon the other for a length of afew millimeters or abut one against the other. In the first instance, the ends are superposed in such a way that there is no risk of their being stripped off when sliding through the kinematographic apparatus. For this purpose the ends of the bands are glued so that the front end of each band is covered by the rear end of the preceding 'one in the direction of the sliding movement. The small hands are of course glued according to the natural successidn of the images. A kinematographic band is thereby obtained of an desired length, on a continuous support in one piece.

6 The kinematog'raphic band obtained as above stated must be provided with feeding perforations, which operation is effected according to my method by the following means which are one of the characteristic features of my invention.

Although the images of a band are supposed to be exactly equidistant on the whole length of said band, it is impractical to simply lead the same through a perforating machine of the kind usually used for kinematographic purposes, as the images would never correspond to the adjacent number of perforations, however exact the regulatin of the feeding mechanism may be. In sai known machines, one perforation is made at each stroke on each side of the band so that any excess of a hundredth of a millimeter for instance in the stroke of the punching die would cause an advance of a length approximately equal to that of one image oetween the series of perforations and the series of images on a feed of 9 meters assuming a picture 19 mm. in height and four picture holes per picture. Means must therefore'be provlded for permitting the inter-- vening differences to be corrected as they are produced. To this end, I use a perforating machine by means of which four erforations corresponding to the height 0 an image may be simultaneously produced on each side of the band at each reci rocating stroke of the punching die. 'Sai machine comprises a guiding or feeding comb having four teeth on each side, which are intended to engage into the perforations. The distance between the comb and the dies corresponds to any number of images, i. 6. four, eight or twelve perforations for instance, each image corresponding to four perforations.

The machine is provided with a slot or passage for the band, which passage has an opening receiving light from any suitable source and capable of being closed by any obturator while the band is ed by the mechanism. In front of the opening is located an objective so that the images may be projected on a screen as in a projecting machine. The machine is also provided with two levers acting independently of each other while the machineis working, one for varying the stroke of the feeding comb and the other for varying the distance between the comb and the punching dies.

In operation, the operator observes the images projected on the screen and notices that said images ascend or descend slightlv on the screen if the height of each image, i. e. the image pitch and the stroke of the feeding comb, 2'. e. the perforation feed do not correspond exactly. The operator may then correct the perforation by means of the lever acting on the stroke of the feeding comb so that the image does not ascend nor descend farther on the screen, which shows that the image pitch and the perforation feed correspond temporarily. The operator may then act graduall by means of the second lever, on the distance between the comb and the dies so as to center or frame the image again.

The perforating machine above described may obviously be also arranged for directly observing the images but in this case the result obtained in controlling the rforation of the band is less exact than in operating by projection.

In order to protect the printed images, the bands may be varnished, for instance with a celluloid or an alcohol varnish.

Besides the ,ahove mentioned advantages it may be added that photomechanical printing is generally better and finer on thin paper than on thick paper and that the oer,

printing plates are less strained thereby,

Generally speaking, metallization is 1 also easier and more brilliant on thin and resilient paper. The images may hbwever ibe B printed on a thick paper if desired, pro vided that a continuous suppont be used and that the printed small hands be glued thereon end to end Without being super posed.

It may finally be remarked that by perforating the bands and projecting the in'iages at the same time, as above set forth, each band becomes verifiedas far as the proper order of the images, the faults, etc. are concerned, said verification being necessary in all cases. v

In the event of the images being .printe by photography, sensitized layers, Wl1iCl1'I8- quire a very long 'insolation may then be used, in spite of the comparatively long time of exposition required, as a thousand images for instance are printed at the same time While by the known methods the images must be printed successively.-

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

1. A method of manufacturing kinematographic bands to be fed by means of lateral perforations consisting in obtaining a reproducing surface entirely covered by kine- -matographic images, no lateral'margins being left for perforations on the sides of said images, obtaining prints from said surface, 3 cutting said prints into bands, fixin said bands on a resisting and continuous supporting Web of a suiiicient Width to receive projected images on the screen, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth. l

A method of manufacturing kineinatographic bands consisting in obtaining an uin ierforated Web having kinematographic images thereon, making perforations in the Web on length corresponding to one image at the same ti. 1e, feeding the Web intermittently for a length COPETQSPOHQiiIlg with the distai'icc between the transverse axes of two consecutive images, projecting the imon a screen and preventing any displacement of the projected images on the screen by controlling the distance between thedeeding and perforating means, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth. Y

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presenceof two subscribing itnesses.

CllARLES 'DUPUIS Witnesses c Louis ll lOSES, Dean R. Mason. 

